The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature
The author of the New York Times bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music reveals music's role in the evolution of human culture-and "will leave you awestruck" (The New York Times)\ Daniel J. Levitin's astounding debut bestseller, This Is Your Brain on Music, enthralled and delighted readers as it transformed our understanding of how music gets in our heads and stays there. Now in his second New York Times bestseller, his genius for combining science and art reveals how music shaped humanity...
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The author of the New York Times bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music reveals music’s role in the evolution of human culture—and “will leave you awestruck” (The New York Times)Daniel J. Levitin’s astounding debut bestseller, This Is Your Brain on Music, enthralled and delighted readers as it transformed our understanding of how music gets in our heads and stays there. Now in his second New York Times bestseller, his genius for combining science and art reveals how music shaped humanity across cultures and throughout history.Dr. Levitin identifies six fundamental song functions or types—friendship, joy, comfort, religion, knowledge, and love—then shows how each in its own way has enabled the social bonding necessary for human culture and society to evolve. He shows, in effect, how these “six songs” work in our brains to preserve the emotional history of our lives and species.Dr. Levitin combines cutting-edge scientific research from his music cognition lab at McGill University and work in an array of related fields; his own sometimes hilarious experiences in the music business; and illuminating interviews with musicians such as Sting and David Byrne, as well as conductors, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists. The World in Six Songs is, ultimately, a revolution in our understanding of how human nature evolved—right up to the iPod. Nancy Pearl The book I've been waiting for all my life. (Nancy Pearl, public radio librarian and auth or of the Book Lust series)
Chapter 1 Taking It from the Top or "The Hills Are Alive ..." 1Chapter 2 Friendship or "War (What Is It Good For)?" 41Chapter 3 Joy or "Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut" 83Chapter 4 Comfort or "Before There Was Prozac, There Was You" 111Chapter 5 Knowledge or "I Need to Know" 137Chapter 6 Religion or "People Get Ready" 189Chapter 7 Love or "Bring 'Em All In" 229Appendix 291Notes 295Acknowledgments 335Index 337
\ Oliver SacksEndlessly stimulating, a marvelous overview, and one which only a deeply musical neuroscientist could give. (Oliver Sacks, M.D., author of Musicophilia)\ \ \ \ \ Nancy PearlThe book I've been waiting for all my life. (Nancy Pearl, public radio librarian and auth or of the Book Lust series)\ \ \ David ByrneI loved reading that music coordinates more disparate parts of the brain than almost anything else. . . . Deepens the beautiful mystery that is music. (David Byrne, founder of Talking Heads)\ \ \ \ \ New York TimesDr. Levitin is an unusually deft interpreter full of striking scientific trivia.\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalIn this follow-up to his New York Times best-selling This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, Levitin argues that every song ever written can fall within six categories and that music "is a core element of our identity as a species, an activity that paved the way for more complex behaviors." While he includes a wide variety of song examples to support his argument, his explanations of evolutionary causations for music become repetitive. As for his narration, it is dry and, at times, embarrassing-as when he reads lighthearted song lyrics meant to be sung. Sloppy editing causes some tracks to start mid-word, and the discs lack sequential announcements. Surprisingly, the recording does not take advantage of the medium by including any significant music samplings. Further, the notes from the hardcover edition are omitted here. Of limited interest to public and perhaps high school libraries. [Audio clip available through us.penguingroup.com; the Dutton hc received a starred review, LJ Xpress 7/22/08.-Ed.]—Johannah Genett\ \
